When the sword aura filled this entire space,
all the phantoms shattered instantly, along with the square platform beneath Ye Yuâs feet.
At first, Ye Yu thought it was over.
But unexpectedly, snowflakes suddenly began falling from the sky.
Soon, a slender swordsman appeared not far ahead, standing with his back turned.
He wore a long sword at his waist and asked slowly and deliberately, âWhat is a sword?â
Ye Yu looked forward and said gravely, âA sword is a sword!â
The swordsman did not turn around and asked again, âWhat is a sword?â
This time, Ye Yu said nothing,
instead, he walked straight ahead.
Having gone through so many dreamlike trials,
Ye Yu had developed his own quick-clear theory for secret realms and illusions:
Kill anyone showing off!
Whether phantom, lingering soul, golden-armored deity â once they start posturing or showing fury, just strike directly!
Talking more would be a waste of time.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Like those treasure-bearing residual souls â they never wasted words, just went straight to the point.
So listening to their nonsense didnât matter; just consider it a quest.
But this swordsman kept repeating âWhat is a sword?â
Clearly, he was just forcefully showing off.
Ye Yu couldnât tolerate that even a little!
With a thought,
the Feathered Butterfly Sword appeared before him.
Grasping it tightly, Ye Yu suddenly unleashed the True Blue Lotus Thunder Sword Technique.
At the moment the heavenly thunder struck down, the swordsman instantly vanished without a trace.
Immediately after, a strong radiance appeared.
When Ye Yu opened his eyes again,
he found himself standing before a vast palace.
Around him stood hundreds of sword immortals.
Their brows were furrowed tightly, and sword scars appeared on their bodies from time to time.
They must still be trapped in the illusions of the secret realm.
Looking at the unfamiliar faces, Ye Yu guessed Lin Miaoxue might also be here.
He quickly began searching.
Sure enough,
he found Lin Miaoxue about a hundred meters east.
At this moment, she too had not awakened from the illusions.
Fortunately, she bore no wounds.
That was good news.
However, Ye Yu really did not know how to dispel illusions!
He heard that carelessness could cause great danger to those affected.
So he gently grasped Lin Miaoxueâs delicate hand and transmitted by mind voice: âKill all who see!â
Unfortunately, no response came despite waiting a long time.
It seemed useless.
Helpless, Ye Yu turned back toward the palace.
Every secret realm contained unique treasures that provided power.
Their existence maintained the realmâs operation.
When these objects ran out of energy or were taken, the secret realm would collapse.
He believed that if he found {Nâ˘oâ˘vâ˘eâ˘lâ˘iâ˘gâ˘hâ˘t} that object, perhaps it could awaken them from the illusions!
With this in mind,
Ye Yu flashed forward and quickly entered the palace.
Inside was spacious yet filled with a violent sword intent.
At the very center, a small figure seemed to be fiddling with something.
Ye Yu cautiously approached,
and found the tiny figure was a little girl with horn-shaped braids.
She appeared about four or five years old.
She was piecing together a broken sword.
But no matter how she tried, she couldnât restore it properly.
This frustrated her greatly.
Yet Ye Yuâs attention was drawn not by her hands, but by dozens of thumb-sized phantoms near the broken sword.
These were the sword immortals he had seen outside,
all gathered into this small space.
Every sword scar on their phantoms emitted a blue stream of light that flew directly to the girlâs hand.
She observed carefully.
If it was suitable, she added it to the broken sword.
If not, she couldnât help but scoff,
âSword intent not pure enough, rubbish!â
After saying this, she waved the fresh blood drop away.
This miraculous scene greatly interested Ye Yu.
He walked directly up and softly asked, âWhat are you doing?â
âIâm repairing my masterâs broken sword!
My master told me sheâd come back and take me out once the broken sword was reforged.
Iâm trying to use these sword immortalsâ useless power to replenish the lost sword intent of the immortal sword.â
The little girl glanced at Ye Yu with some grievance and continued, âYouâre the first immortal in three hundred thousand years to break through the illusion and come here.
And you only spent a single incense stickâs time.
Do you know? The second-level trial I designed had so many dialogues and beautiful scenes.
But you just drew your sword and slashed without a word â you really are unexpected!â
Hearing this, Ye Yu couldnât help but smile.
Then he felt surprised.
âYou say you designed these trials? Why did you do that?â
âI used sword aura to open this space for sword immortals to refine their sword intent.
If they get hurt, I take a small portion of their sword intent and fuse it into the broken sword, so the immortal swordâs intent wonât disperse.
Itâs a win-win result.â
The little girl did not stop her work,
continuing to handle the broken sword carefully.
Her earnest and diligent manner somehow evoked sympathy.
But Ye Yu clearly saw
a piece was missing from the broken swordâs cracked area.
Because of this, no matter how hard the girl tried, she could not fully restore the sword.
After thinking deeply,
Ye Yu stepped forward slowly and softly said, âDonât waste your effort. You alone canât piece this sword back together.
How about I take you to a swordsmith to have it reforged? Then you can use it again?â
The little girl finally stopped moving.
She looked up at Ye Yu and asked seriously, âWhy do you say I canât fix it?â
âBecause the broken sword has a missing piece!â
Ye Yu pointed to the gap.
The girlâs expression changed suddenly.
She whispered softly, âThe broken sword has a missing piece... thatâs why I canât restore it!â
Did she really fail to notice the missing piece?
In fact, she had been trying to restore the sword for three hundred thousand years.
She should have noticed long ago.
Her surprise meant only one thing:
she didnât want to face this reality.
The little girl finally put down the broken sword.
A bitter smile appeared.
In her mind, her masterâs beautiful face appeared uncontrollably.
The gentle words from that day still seemed to linger in her ears.
âMaster, it wasnât that you lied to me â it was that I didnât want to move on.
Heâs right, the broken sword has a missing piece; it can never be reforged.â
As the girl finished speaking,
the broken sword instantly became more shattered, cracks spreading across the entire blade.
She then turned to Ye Yu and softly said, âMy name is Xiang Sizi.â